In the practice of dentistry, it is often necessary to obtain dental x-ray pictures. For this purpose, dental x-ray film is typically provided in a packet designed for placement within the mouth of a patient. Unlike some flat articles that are dispensed, these packets are soft and easily deformed. Additionally these packets typically have a thin outer rim which adds to the difficulty in dispensing of the packets. Examples of such dental packets are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,108,308; 4,831,463; 4,771,179; 4,791,467 and 4,951,305. These dental film packets are typically provided in banded bundles containing 150 packets. The bundles are placed into a dispenser and the band removed. This procedure is quite cumbersome and often results in packets being dropped. Additionally, out of necessity, this loading process requires handling of the packets by the user. Furthermore, the soft nature of the packets make it difficult to dispense the packets individually from a dispenser. Dispensers of the prior art often experience jamming of the film packet at the time of dispensing. As a result of the foregoing problems, user of prior art devices have simply placed the banded bundle of dental x-ray film packets in a drawer from which individual packets are then removed. However, this too presents certain undesirable problems. For example, as each individual packet is removed from the bundle, the bundle becomes looser until the packets are free to simply move within the drawer. This can result in damage or contamination of the film packets.
Applicants have invented a dispenser for dispensing, in a sanitary manner, individual packets from a stack of packets which is easy to fill, minimizes or eliminates potential contact by the user during filling of the dispenser, requires little or no maintenance and provides reliable dispensing of the packets. The dispenser of the present invention is also designed to provide dispensing of individual packets directly into a cup or other similar container held under the dispensing area of the dispenser.
Applicants have also invented an improved tray for holding and dispensing individual film packets in a clean and sanitary manner. The tray may be placed within a drawer or other confining area for individual dispensing of the packets.